In a sentenceHugh Grant looks politely appalled at being asked to grow up
An unlikely friendship brings Will Freeman (Hugh Grant) together with Marcus Brewer (Nicholas Hoult), with neither quite equipped to deal with the other. Will is the adult and Marcus the boy, but growing up is a concern for both of them. Their relationship develops alongside the difficulties facing Fiona Brewer (Toni Collette), whose depression brings another set of needs into their lives. Will’s detachment becomes harder to maintain as he gets to know Marcus. The friendship asks how far Will is prepared to change and what the boy can expect from him.
Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult make About a Boy a funny, touching comedy about an unlikely friendship. The women get less room, and the sentiment sometimes needs a firmer hand, but the central pairing earns our affection.
About a Boy is a good comedy about an unlikely friendship, with a performance from Hugh Grant that is worth rather more than the familiar lesson about growing up. Directors Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz trust the awkwardness between him and Nicholas Hoult, and the film is funniest when neither appears to be trying to please us. Adapting Nick Hornby’s novel with Peter Hedges, they keep the central relationship from becoming too respectable. Some of the surrounding characters could use the same attention.
Hugh Grant plays Will Freeman with a precise sense of how little to give away. His blankness is funny because there seems to be some calculation behind it: perhaps a sufficiently unhelpful response will bring this conversation to an end. We laughed at those pauses, and at the suggestion that answering properly would involve more work than Will considers reasonable. The performance keeps him interesting even when he has little of interest to contribute.
Nicholas Hoult’s Marcus Brewer gives Will someone he cannot simply out-charm. The pleasure of their scenes is the mismatch in comic rhythm: the adult appears to be managing an encounter while the boy declines to supply the response that would make it easy. The younger actor earns sympathy without asking us to find every awkward moment adorable. In a coming-of-age comedy, where a child can so easily become a lesson for an adult, that individuality matters.
The writing is less generous to the women. Toni Collette gives Fiona Brewer’s depression enough weight to stop it becoming an eccentricity, though the film sometimes seems too eager to make distress fit the comedy. Rachel Weisz brings assurance to Rachel, but the part has less room to develop than Will’s. The screenplay by Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz and Peter Hedges understands its central man more fully than the people around him, and that limits how far the feeling goes.
Remi Adefarasin’s cinematography keeps small shifts of expression legible without insisting that each should be important. Jim Clay’s production design has a comparable restraint: the surroundings feel inhabited without competing for attention. Neither contribution makes an ordinary conversation feel like a grand occasion. That suits the material, although the visual modesty also means there is little to distract us when an exchange is less sharply written.
Nick Moore’s editing is alert to the time a reaction needs; a quicker cut would often spoil Will’s apparent indifference. Badly Drawn Boy’s music adds an appealing softness, but it also helps make the sentiment feel more settled than the writing warrants. When the film presses hardest for an emotional response, the encouragement becomes noticeable. The friendship has already done enough to interest us without quite so much assistance.
Coming-of-age comedies often ask children to be relentlessly lovable, and this one benefits from letting Marcus be awkward. Its growing tidiness is a limitation, especially when the central actors have made the discomfort so enjoyable. At 101 minutes, it gives their exchanges room without allowing the pace to become leisurely. We recommend it for their company, with a little patience for the film’s more insistent efforts to warm us up.
The reviews lean towards approval rather than outright enthusiasm, with positive and mixed assessments but no negative verdicts. Hugh Grant is the clearest point of agreement: critics repeatedly praise his comic timing and controlled portrayal of Will, even when the film itself wins only qualified approval. Nicholas Hoult also earns praise for his performance and chemistry with Grant. The warmer accounts find the comedy funny, irreverent and refreshingly unsentimental, with an unlikely friendship that gives the coming-of-age story its appeal.
The main divide concerns how successfully the humour and emotion work together. Digital Spy finds the storytelling both hilarious and affecting, while Variety considers it pleasant but short on laughs and emotional involvement, finding the emotional climax manufactured. The Guardian admires Grant’s intelligence but misses his earlier comic energy and questions the film’s earnestness. The spread is appreciable rather than polarised, though several partial reviews offer too little accessible detail to establish their reasoning.
The review is positive about this British adaptation. It singles out Hugh Grant’s excellent performance as Will.
Read the full review →The critic calls it a pleasingly skewed, very funny British comedy that delivers an enjoyable take on coming of age. They praise the chemistry between Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult, along with Hoult’s performance and the film’s irreverent humor.
Read the full review →Kennedy finds the comedy-drama admirably unsentimental and consistently funny, with its positives outweighing its flaws. He singles out Hugh Grant’s finely calibrated comic performance, while noting that the supporting cast cannot match him gag for gag.
Read the full review →The review is broadly positive about the film’s comic take on an unlikely friendship. It singles out Hugh Grant’s performance as a highlight.
Read the full review →The review is broadly positive, though it finds the women less successful than the central character. It especially praises Hugh Grant’s comic timing and performance.
Read the full review →The page identifies this as a review, but the accessible text does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It also does not show what the critic singled out for praise or complaint.
Read the full review →
The Station AgentThe awkward business of accepting friendship, handled with patience and dry humour.
Kolya · not reviewed yetAn adult’s comfortable selfishness meets a child who requires more than charm.
Hunt for the WilderpeopleA prickly adult and a difficult boy make unexpectedly good comic company.
The Kid with a Bike · not reviewed yetA tougher look at a child’s need for dependable adult affection.
Local HeroAnother comedy that finds warmth without requiring its people to become saints.
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